Unbroken Heart
by kokoro62
Summary: It's been seventeen years since the defeat of the Death Saurer. Things had been quiet and peaceful until a year after the monstrosity's defeat. A new military power has come onto the scene, wreaking havoc for their 'New World Order'. Full summery inside
1. That Dream Again

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do NOT own Zoids!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Any OC characters belong to me! They will be named in due time!_

_**Author's Note:**_ Hey everyone! I decided to finally get a new Zoids fic up! This one isn't a collaboration fic, so the updates may take a little longer. I will try to do my best to not neglect this! It's one of my favorites actually :3. I will warn you now. This fic is not like my other ones. It's dark, angsty, has lots of blood and character deaths in it! If you don't like any of that, then please don't read! I do not want to hear anything about it since I have warned you! Other than that, please enjoy! :)

_**Summary:**_ It's been seventeen years since the defeat of the Death Saurer. Things had been quiet and peaceful until a year after the monstrosity's defeat. A new military power has come onto the scene, wreaking havoc for their 'New World Order'. Their true motives remain unknown to the Guardian Force, who fight against them at every turn. The GF had been winning most of the battles until a very familiar Zoid came onto the scene seven years ago… They had steadily losing battles and faith as their forces were torn to shreds…

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**ϔ That Dream Again…ϔ**

_It was a peaceful morning. The birds were already singing their morning songs; the sun's golden hues were bathing the land in their warm glow, causing the flower fields to turn golden in return. The soft pinks were just starting to disappear from the sunrise as it reached its peak, which woke the little family that had settled in the golden flower field. It was a peaceful, secluded place where no one would bother them, which is just what they wanted._

_The two adults were first awoken by the sun's rays, but promptly ignored them, wanting to sleep just a little longer before they day started. Their peaceful resting didn't last long, however. From just down the hall they could hear their child start to wake up, the quiet giggling and cooing soon escalated to shrill shrieks of laughter from whatever it was that was entertaining him. Both parents sighed quietly, knowing that it was now time for them to get up. The woman crawled closer to her husband, giving him a soft kiss to wake him up, "Come on dear… It's your turn to get him ready for today," she said softly, yet sweetly. _

_The man turned slightly to dace his wife, smiling softly. "Alright… We'll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes," he replied, kissing her back. She broke the kiss when she heard their son getting louder. She smiled sweetly at her husband before getting up and heading downstairs to start on breakfast. The man sighed quietly before getting up as well. However, instead of going downstairs, he headed down the hallway to his son's nursery. The nine month old was kicking and flailing around in his crib, giggling and cooing at the mobile that was hanging over him. The man walked over to his son's crib and peered down into it, watching his son with a smile. When the baby spotted his father did he get louder, cooing at him and reaching up to him to be picked up. The man didn't hesitate to pick the child up and get him ready for the day. That was a hassle in and of itself, since his son wouldn't stay still for more than two seconds. Eventually though, did he get his son dressed and they then headed downstairs._

_The child giggled the entire way down the stairs and had even grabbed a hold of his father's hair and pulled on it…sharply… The man bit back a yelp before he tried to pry his son's tiny fingers from their hold. Their son had just recently started to pull on their hair, a phase they had told themselves. He would out grow it…soon they hoped. The man could hear his wife giggling at him as she set the table. He sighed quietly, still working at getting his son to release him. He finally managed to do so, and when he did, did he set the nine month old in his high chair. The child started banging on the tray top, babbling and cooing at his parents. His mother would coo back to him while his father tried to resist doing such an action, but failed miserably._

_The commotion that was going on in the kitchen eventually brought out the family's 'pet'. "Hey -," the man greeted. The 'pet' walked over to where the man was seated and nudged him as his way of saying 'morning', before going over to where the child was. The 'pet' absolutely adored the child, and said child loved to play with the 'pet'._

_Breakfast went by smoothly, with their son only getting mildly messy. The boy's mother cleaned him up with a wash cloth before getting him out of the highchair. She took him to the living room and set him down so then he could crawl around. Her husband had already set up the safety gates when he had went upstairs to change and get the cereal out of his hair… The child had crawled around, playing with the family's 'pet', giggling and laughing brightly. His mother had gotten most of his toys out, but he didn't seem all that interested in them. When she saw that did she sigh and go back to the kitchen to grab some of her pots and wooden spoons for him to bang on. And sure enough the young child did just that, causing a racket that the young man could hear even upstairs and in the shower… _

_The rest of the morning went by more peacefully and quietly. Their son had gotten sleepy so his mother had picked him up and taken him back upstairs to put him down for a nap. Her husband and their 'pet' were in the kitchen, prepping a few things for the picnic that they were going to go on later that after noon. As he was packing the last few items that they would need did a knock come at the kitchen door. _

_The man turned and glared at it. No one knew where they were… They had chosen this spot for that very reason. He calmed himself down slightly. It was probably just a traveler who had gotten lost. He heard his 'pet' growl lowly as another knock came at the door. He started to grow uneasy again… Figuring that it would be best to just open it and see just who it was did the young man go over to the door. He opened it slightly and looked out, not liking what he was seeing. A small army of Zoids had gathered on his land, most were just transport Gustavs, but there were a few that had him worried… His attention refocused on the person that was now approaching his back door. They were entirely clad in black and the only thing that set him apart from the others was the faux military badges and medals that adorned his chest. The black clad man stopped in front of him before smirking darkly._

"_You didn't really think that you could hide from us forever now did you -?" he asked smugly._

_The younger man glowered slightly, "I've already told you before; I have no interest in joining you. Now, kindly remove yourselves from my property before I have to do so for you," the younger said, as he was going to slam the door shut. A black boot prevented him from doing so, however._

"_Tsk, tsk. You see -, we won't take 'no' for an answer," the black clad man said, smirking as he brought a nine mil to the younger's chest. The younger man narrowed his eyes at the older man, but didn't back down. That caused the black clad man to roughly jab the gun barrel into the younger's chest, making him move away from the door, which was opened further to allowed more people into his kitchen. More guns were aimed on him, machine guns the younger noticed, which caused his 'pet' to charge at the intruders. The black clad man clicked his fingers and an electrical net was fired, catching and incapacitating the younger's 'pet'._

"_Take it outside and put it in one of the containment units," the older man ordered. That caused the young man to grow angry. He went to stop the black clad soldiers from taking his 'pet' but was stopped in his tracks when fifteen machine guns were trained onto him. He could only watch as his friend was dragged outside and out of his sight._

"_Now…for the last time -; Are you going to co-operate with us?" the black clad man asked coldly. _

_The young man took in his options, which weren't many… His family needed him… He had no desire to fight for their 'cause'. It must have shown in his face because the next second he heard; "That's too bad -. We had hoped that you'd co-operate with us. Oh well… We'll just have to 'find' someone that's more willing." There was the deafening sound of the man clicking his fingers again, before the sound of machine guns going off reverberated through the little valley of flowers…_

_The young man screamed bloody murder, feeling the many shots tear through his body, and he wasn't able to anything to stop it. The force of all the shots that were being strewn through his body was enough to push him back against one of the kitchen walls, where he was all but paralyzed as they continued to shoot at him. He felt warm blood start to ooze from his mouth as he sputtered slightly, choking on it. He could hear his wife screaming in terror, his son crying from all the confusion, noise and as a reaction to his mother. _

_The shots stopped suddenly and the young man slid down the wall slowly, leaving behind a smeary bloody trail. There was blood everywhere… It practically covered the entire kitchen… His body was completely red as his life's blood spilled from the many, many wounds. Miraculously though, he was still alive, but only just… He could still hear his wife screaming, his son crying, both terrified. He heard his wife start to scream something else to someone before hearing a single shot ring through the house. A quiet 'thump' followed. His wife wasn't screaming anymore… He could hear his son still crying though, before he too was 'silenced'._

_He watched with blurred vision, his vision was blurred from the tears that were spilling from his eyes, the blood that was dripping into them from his wounds and from his fading life, as pair of black combat boots stopped in front of him. He looked up to the black clad man slightly, not really able to see his face any more… However, he could see the black gun barrel that he was now looking down quite clearly. It was the last thing that he saw as the man pulled the trigger... A single shot rung throughout the now deadly quiet valley, startling the few birds that were left into taking flight…_

**ϠϠϠϠϠ**

A pair of wide violet eyes suddenly revealed themselves as they frantically searched around the dark room. There was nothing there… There never was…

'…_it's that Dream again… …that Dream that has plagued me ever since I could remember… Not a night has gone past when I haven't had it… …well…I shouldn't say __every__ night… …I don't have it when I'm unconscious…'_ the youth mused.

The dulled violet eyes looked around the room again, searching the shadows for any sort of threat. There wasn't any threat though… There never was… It was just something that had been drilled into his mind since he had been young… It was second nature… It was a comfort place… It was all that he had…

The youth shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground again. There was no way he'd be going back to sleep, and even if he did he'd just be plagued by that Dream again… He looked up to his small, barred, window and saw the pale lights that signaled dawn was almost there.

'…_Besides…it's almost dawn… They'll be coming down to get me soon for my training… There's no point in going back to sleep now…'_

The youth was right… A few minutes later, just when the sun was about to rise, did someone come to collect him. It was just another day in his hellish life… Just another day of training his body, mind and piloting ability… They had stepped it up a little in the last few weeks thought… Apparently there was a big battle with the Guardian Force coming up…

'_And they __need__ me,'_ the youth smirked darkly…

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_**Author's Note:**_ Hoped you all liked this! And yeah, character death right off the bat… Two character deaths actually ^^; Just who is this youth that we're going to be following? You'll just have to wait and find out. And just how will the Guardian Force prepare for this battle? Again, you just gotta wait to find out! Please Review! They make my day! :)


	2. From the Guardians' Side

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do NOT own Zoids!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Any OC characters belong to me! They will be named in due time!_

_**Author's Note:**_ Hey everyone! I'm SO sorry that this has taken me so long to update! As well as all of my other stories! Please forgive me! Things are finally starting to get better in my life, so updates _should_be a bit more frequent. I felt so bad, and had a lot of free time on my hands at work, that I have the next several chapters for this story all written out in a rough draft. Be on the lookout for some new works from me as well! I hope you all enjoy~

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**ϔ From the Guardians' Side ϔ**

It was a dreary day the Guardian Force. The rain had been non-stop since the night prior, and thus had delayed some of their ammo convoys that were supposed to have arrived. The peace that they had all fought so hard for was in shambles. It had hardly been a year after the Ultimate Deathsaurer's defeat before the planet had erupted into war again. However, these new forces were unknown and their Zoids unmarked. They had tried to reason with them, tried to talk with them but nothing had worked. What made it even more difficult was the fact that these people didn't seem to have any sort of agenda. It seemed that they just fought just for the sake of fighting. These people were also hard to read, which made it harder to prepare for their next attack.

Currently though, there hadn't been any attacks, which worried the Guardian Force. A lull such as this meant that they were planning something bit. All that they could do was to prepare their selves and wait. However, there was only so much that one could do so many times before becoming antsy and a bit paranoid. Perhaps this was a part of their plan… Perhaps they were waiting for as long as they could to cause some of the Guardian Force's younger and rasher soldiers to become stir crazy.

The man that had been pondering about these things sighed quietly, still just staring into his cup of coffee. Things were an absolute mess on Zi. The people had all but given hope. The first seven years had been in their favor, but they had become careless and a bit arrogant. They had been on the verge if victory…but it had slipped through their fingers. Ten years ago a horror of a Zoid they had hoped to never see again reappeared. And to make matters worse, the pilot fought like a demon. They had tried to get through to him, but nothing they did worked. He ignored all of their signals and had promptly taken most of them out.

So now, they were back to square one. They Zoid that had most people terrified randomly appeared at battles. They were always on their toes when intelligence got wind of an approaching battle…

The man sighed again, his coffee had long since gone cold. However, he couldn't be bothered to warm it up. He was too deep into his thoughts to do that. He had been a part of the original Guardian Force. He was now nearing fifty. He had lost count a few years ago. Keeping the planet safe was more important than remembering just how old he was. He was now a General, and was highly revered for his tactics and leadership. The General, one Karl L. Schubaltz, leaned back in his chair slightly, still thinking. They had so little information to go on. The 'Other Side' as the Guardian Force called them, had no known leader that they could see at least. Their motives were unknown, and they had no intention of going for peace treaties, or, for that matter, talking in general. They also had no idea where their headquarters were, let alone just where they had gotten their recruits and Zoids. Their numbers where vast, nearly rivaling those of the Guardian Force, Imperial Army and Republican Army. But…just _where_ were they keeping all of them? They had general ideas on where, but whenever they set out to go and investigate, the Others chose to attack somewhere else. They had even tried to split up to investigate, but that had cost them dearly. They had lost two core members when they had tried that. Lieutenant O'Connell and Rosso had been killed in that attack.

They hadn't dared to try splitting into smaller groups after that. Thankfully though, they could still split up, so long as their numbers weren't small enough that the enemy could pick off easily. Apart from those two, the rest of the Original Guardian Force was still alive.

Karl glanced at the clock. It was a quarter 'til two, and the rest of the Guardian Force would be arriving for a meeting. Colonel Schubaltz, his younger brother Thomas, had called the meeting. He had said that he had important information to tell them. Hopefully it would be something helpful, something that they could work from. He watched while the other Core members filed into the room. The first person to arrive was General Herman. He took a seat to his left, but didn't say anything. Karl knew that Herman, like himself, was hoping for good news and workable information. However, Karl also knew that Thomas wouldn't have called this meeting if it wasn't important.

Van and Fiona, along with their son Jayden took seats beside him. Jayden looked a lot like Van, but instead of the warm, dark brown eyes, he had inherited his mother's bright, inquisitive reddish-pink eyes. His hair was also more of a medium-dark brown color, rather than the dark, dark brown, nearly black hair that Van had. Because both of his parents were so cheerful and bright, it was only natural that he had inherited that disposition as well. Irvine and Moonbay had followed after them with their son and daughter, Caleb and Melody. They had taken seats opposite of Van and Fiona. Caleb was the oldest of the three, while Jayden was the youngest. Caleb looked a lot like Moonbay, and had a darker color skin tone, but it wasn't that noticeable, unless you really looked. However, he had Irvine's dusty hair color and Moonbay's dark brown eyes. His twin sister, Melody, looked a lot like their mother, but she had inherited Irvine's violet eyes and both of their tempers. Reese was the second to last to enter. She had joined shortly after the downfall of the Ultimate Deathsaurer, wanting to make amends for what she had done. There were a few other people, but Karl couldn't remember all of their names, since most of them were new Lieutenants. Once everyone had been seated did Thomas finally enter the conference room. Karl noted that he looked frazzled, if not a bit disturbed. Whatever it was that he had to tell them, he knew that it wasn't going to be good…

Thomas shifted a bit nervously. No matter how many times he had to address people like this, it always made him a bit nervous. After all, what he had to tell them wasn't exactly good news. He cleared his throat slightly before starting.

"I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice. If this could wait I would have put it off until tomorrow morning, but it can't. Thanks to some engineering on my part, and Reese's bugs, I've been able to learn that they are planning what they care called a 'Kamikaze Attack'. I wasn't able to get just what all they were planning, but just from the name alone, it's something big. Thankfully, one of the people that the bugs were following let it slip that the dates for this attack will be soon, very likely at the end of the week soon, or sooner. I couldn't catch any targets, but I am guessing that it will be an attack on the Guardian Force directly. While the capitals are also very likely candidates, I think that they are trying to get rid of the biggest threat first before picking off the capitals," he finished to the looks of severe faces.

Finally it was Van that spoke up first, "Did you manage to find out just what kinds of Zoids they'll be using? I know that asking for how many is near impossible to find out, but if were know just what all they're planning to use, it will better prepare us."

Thomas nodded slightly, "Apart from their normal infantry that they use, such as Command Wolves and Rev Raptors, I also found out that they will be using a number of long ranged Zoids, such as Gun Snipers and the newer model the Snipe Master. I also heard that they'll be using some sort of aerial fleet, though I don't know what exactly they'll be using. Their normal Zoids of choice will also be used… And…it is my belief that they will be bringing '_HIM_' to the battle as well…though I have no idea when…" he finished.

Just about everyone started to talk after that. The only new threat would be those Snipe Masters, but the fact that they would be using '_HIM_' in the battle was what made it dangerous. That pilot could easily take on half of the Guardian Force himself. They could not take this lightly. They needed to alert Emperor Rudolf of this turn of events, while Herman contacted his assistant to warn her of what they had just learned. Everyone else decided to get their Zoids ready and to put the rest of the base on alert.

Van had just finished telling some of the new recruits to be on guard when the base suddenly shook violently and the alarm sirens went off. '_I know that Thomas said soon, but I didn't think that it would be THIS soon!'_

After regaining his balance did he hurry off to his Zoid. He had just strapped himself in when something struck the side of the base again, opening a large hole in the wall. Van had no time to dwell on it as he mobilized his Blade Liger. He had told Zeke beforehand to stay with Jayden, since he would be fine on his own. The proud blue Blade Liger roared loudly before rushing out of the base and into the fray. The attack itself came as a semi-surprise, but he knew that something wasn't right. The forces were too small to take them on seriously. He could tell that he wasn't the only one to think so. So long as they kept their wits about them then they should be fine…hopefully.

The prelude to the Kamikaze Attack had begun.

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_**Author's Note:**_ Sorry it's so short! But this chapter was needed! The next couple of chapters will be longer, I promise! Anyways, more character death, though I chose two minor characters. Do those deaths have something to do with what's going to happen in the future? Maybe, maybe not, you'll just have to wait until later to find out. And what an ominous name for an attack! For those of you that are sticklers for correct ages, I tried and tried to find their ages, but I couldn't find anything anywhere. SO, if you don't like the made up ages, too bad. You'll notice, if you've read the co-authored fic 'Broken Angel', that Jayden and Caleb are the same, for those are the two that I use when writing their kids. Melody is new, so if she seems as if she isn't doing much, it's because I'm still working on her. As for their ages, Jayden would have JUST turned seventeen, while Caleb and Melody are eighteen. Anyways, I hope that that cleared a few things up, if not, just PM me and I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability! Hope that you enjoyed and be on the lookout for new stories and updates! Please review! They make my day and make me update faster!


	3. The Kamikaze Attack

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do NOT own Zoids!_

_**Disclaimer:**__ Any OC characters belong to me! They will be named in due time!_

_**Author's Note:**_ Hello Everyone! Again, sorry for the slow updates T^T I've been busy working on a writing project that's almost ready for me to start typing. I am sad to say that it won't be seen here on Fan Fiction, due to the fact that it is of no fandoms, but something of my own creation. However, it will be posted on deviantArt, for those that are interested. Anyways, here's the next chapter! I will say now that I am horrible at writing fight scenes that are long and drawn out. So, what happens in this chapter will touch base on what's going on, but it won't be overly 'ACTION, ACTION, ACTION IN YOUR FACE' for the whole chapter. Hope you all enjoy!

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**ϔ The Kamikaze Attack ϔ**

The Guardian Force was scrambling to recover. While the 'Others'' numbers were far fewer than they had anticipated, they hadn't been able to mobilize quickly. The wall that had been blown apart had damaged part of their infantry Zoids, so they were already down a in numbers by at least twenty. To make matters worse, the Others' Redlars and Pteras were all equipped with bombs, which would be let lose at sporadic intervals.

Of the core members, only Van, Irvine and Karl had been able to mobilize quickly enough to keep some of the newer recruits from succumbing to the Others' clutches. So far, none of them had seen anything that they needed to be too wary of. All of the Zoids that they were facing so far weren't too bad. There were no signs of _'that'_ Zoid, and so far their tactics were easy to predict.

It wasn't until Reese, Thomas, Jayden and Caleb got out of the base that Van noticed something. There numbers were small, yes, but no matter how many times he took down one of their Command Wolves or Shield Ligers; there was always another one or two to take its place. He cursed himself mentally for falling for such an easy trap. While he, and the other members of the Guardian Force had been focusing on protecting the base and clearing out the forces that were in front of them, the enemy had been slowly, but surely starting to over whelm them. Their Zoids were starting to run low on ammo in the case of the new recruits, while bit by bit, damage was starting to accumulate, while the Others' had fresh Zoids waiting for them. It didn't matter too much for the core members, since they had all fought in worse conditions against bigger threats, but even they couldn't defeat this enemy on their own. The recruits were young and eager, but didn't have too much battle experience yet. It posed quite a problem, one that they would have to rectify, and soon.

The battle raged on for another twenty minutes before the sound of a large blast from behind got their attention. While they had been focused on what was before them, a few of the Others' units had snuck up behind them and had attacked another side of the wall. Their numbers were starting to dwindle, but so had the Others' numbers...that was until their 'reinforcements' had come. With fresh and stronger troops, for this attachment had Dark Horns, Iron Kongs and Cannon Tortoises in it, the Others' had gotten the upper hand…again. Other than the fact that this attack came as a semi-surprise, Van was just thankful that '_he'_ hadn't shown up yet or that, so far, nothing resembled a 'Kamikaze'. He wouldn't hold his breath though. He knew that this was only the beginning of this dreadful battle.

It was nearly an hour later that things began to go bad for the Guardian Force. Most of the new recruits were struggling to keep battling, despite the fact that their Zoids were nearing system freezes. All of the core members had made it outside, except for Fiona and Moonbay, who were helping with casualties and keeping an eye on the radar for any suspicious movements. There was one, though neither noticed it. Some of the Others' troops were falling back. It wasn't all that suspicious, since they had been doing that throughout the battle. However, what none of the Guardian Force had noticed was that most, including the core members, had been led further and further away from the base. They had unknowingly been drawn further and further from their base, due to the fact that, after some of the Others' would retreat, it would pull some of the Guardian Force closer and closer to their trap. It was tedious work as it had to be slow going to avoid rising suspicion. They had moved them so then they were still within the base's radar…but their forces weren't. They were now just waiting for the signal…that would be given by one of the Guardian Force members themselves.

The Others' didn't have to wait for long, for within ten minutes the signal was given…when a Command Wolf from the infantry stepped on one of their many hidden bombs and blew part of the Wolf up. A panic started to engulf the new recruits, which caused in more explosions and less thinking about trying to detect them. With the Guardian Force effectively occupied trying to dispel the bombs, the next part of the Others' attack started to commence. The ground units went into a full assault, not caring if they or their Zoids got caught in an explosion. Momentarily stunned, since the Guardian Force could only watch as some of the Others' got caught in their own trap, did Van notice what they were up to. Of course…when one is told that a Kamikaze is going to happen…the Others' will make sure that it happens. Van had just managed to warn everyone when the first Ptera loomed over head. It wasn't carrying any bombs, but then again, it didn't need to.

Van just managed to dodge it and put his shield up for an extra precaution. He was glad that he had, for the shock of the explosion nearly caught his Liger's leg on fire. As he looked around the battle field he noticed that they now had a free passage back toward the base. The only thing was getting back there without too many casualties. Karl and Thomas must have seen it as well, for now they were expertly, and discreetly, getting units away from 'ground zero'. Van sighed in relief when he saw their children make it through and back toward the base. They were just getting a few more of the recruits out when a Charged Particle Beam flew past Van, just barely missing him. He gulped slightly, since that shot had just been aimed to get his attention. The battle was now nearly two and a half hours old…and now they had to contend with _'him'_. It was bad enough to have to face him on a 'good' day, never mind a really, really 'bad' one.

Van checked his damage levels and ammunition. He winced slightly, for he hadn't noticed just how much damage had been inflicted so far. Judging by Irvine's hesitance, he had just noticed too. Back in the old days, Irvine would have just rushed straight into things, but he had matured and made more rational decisions than irrational ones now. Thomas and Karl were more focused on getting everyone back to base as safely as they could, while Reese seemed to be either trying to get through to him or seeing just how much power she had left for a few Charged Particle Beams of her own. So far, both he and Reese had managed to keep from calling their Organoids, but now, it seemed that they didn't have much of a choice. Within moments, both Zeke and Specular had answered their masters' calls and had fused to their respected Zoids. However, he wasn't about to let that happen and started his assault on Reese, since she was closer and he knew that Specular wasn't good at healing Zoids.

Reese put up a good fight and got in a few good hits, but the Other in the blood red Zoid quickly over powered her. It had given Zeke the time that he needed to heal the Blade Liger as best as he could in order to face the Geno Breaker. Van wasn't even sure that it was Raven piloting it any more. Not once had he seen Shadow, and not once, in ten years, had he heard the Other Pilot speak. In fact, no one, not even Reese, had seen or heard of or from Raven since the battle against the Ultimate Death Saurer. Of course, everyone had seen him take off with the Geno Breaker and Shadow the morning after, but no one had seen hide or hair of him since. Van could only speculate what had happened or where he was, but in the current times, no one could simply go and look for him.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, did Van get ready. He could see the Geno Breaker stalking its way toward him, and he knew that this battle was going to be for his life. All of the other times going against it, he always felt as if the Pilot was holding back or just playing with him. Now, he would finally get to see if that thought was true. Fighting against this guy was always unpredictable. All of their formations and tactics that they had devised to use against Raven were pretty much useless. The pilot either knew them already or improvised and managed to ruin their attacks anyways. All that Van could do was to go with his gut and hope for the best. This time wasn't any different.

Not daring to make the first move, as that could prove fatal against this guy, did Van wait for his chance. Luckily, he no longer lost his patience while in battle. He needed all that he could get, seeing as this pilot has been known to wait for over half an hour before making a move. It was another reason why Van didn't think that this could be Raven, despite what everyone else thought. He was pretty sure that, no matter what age, Raven wouldn't have THAT much patience. It took nearly ten minutes before the Geno Breaker made a move, but it did, and Van was glad that he hadn't taken the first move. Not only would he have sustained heavy damage from a hidden bomb, but he would have ended up right in front of the Geno Breaker.

Van knew better than to think that the Geno Breaker stepping onto a bomb was an accident. He realized a minute to late as to what he was really up to. The bomb had caused sand and dust to fly up into the air, obscuring the large, blood red Zoid from view. Knowing better than to sit still, did he try the tactic that he had used against that Viper Zoid so long ago… He began to make heat signature copies of himself, in hopes of throwing the Other Pilot off. He had just finished making a fifth copy when his Blade Liger was hit with a retractable claw. The Blade Liger roared in pain and surprise, and prepared itself to struggle the entire time it was pulled along. So, it came as a shock to Van when he was only pulled three feet away from his current position and was looking down the maw of the huge, blood red Zoid. Expecting the Pilot to start charging his Charged Particle Beam at any second, did Van try to break free. It was harder than it looked, since there was hardly any strain against the cord, and the Geno Breaker was positioned just out of reach of his Energy Blade.

He could feel the claw pressing down, trying to snap something in half. Before Van could even try to get away the Geno Breaker's maw clamped down tightly, just behind his Liger's neck. Not knowing just what the Pilot was going to do, did Van try again to break free. However, he was suddenly sent flying when the Breaker managed to pick up his Zoid and began to shake him. Knowing that letting this continue would mean certain death did Van do the only thing that he could think of. He quickly threw up the Liger's shield, which caused the claw to be partially destroyed and he was able to break free from the Pilot's grasp, but not his maw just yet. The shield did its job, however, and a few minutes later his Liger was dropped to the ground. While it was a bit battered, the Liger certainly wasn't down.

Van just managed to get the Liger up and out of the way, for if he had stayed down a moment longer he would have been subjected to one of Raven's favorite moves, which was the crushing stomp of the Breaker's foot. Seeing his chance, did Van retaliate, but his Energy Blade just missed as his opponent moved out of the way. Knowing that regular tactics were pretty much useless on this guy, and all of his previous ways of at least driving the Zoid off were memorized, Van had to rely on improvising and his gut instinct. While that was all fine and dandy to him, the Pilot could still read most of his moves and intentions somehow. Usually his saving grace was either some back up or the Others would suddenly retreat. Today, however, he knew that that would not be the case. It was either do or die, but he was hoping for the former.

It was becoming painfully obvious to Van that he was being toyed with. Another two hours had passed since Van had started his battle with the Geno Breaker, and he was no closer to ending this battle than he had been two hours ago. His Zoid hadn't sustained heavy damage from one attack alone, but from multiple minor attacks combined. The Geno Breaker also had some heavy damage, but it was still in better condition than his Blade Liger. Van knew that if this battle was drawn out into an endurance match, the Geno Breaker would win hands down. He needed to end this, and soon. It was then that a very daring…and very idiotic idea came to him. He could only hope that his friends and family understood just why he was doing this. He didn't have to worry about Zeke interfering, for he had sent him back to the base half an hour ago.

He took a deep breath to steady himself before recklessly charging in. He needed to have a good hold on the Geno Breaker, otherwise this would never work and he'll have died in vain. Like he expected, the Geno Breaker moved out of the way, firing shots at his Liger's legs to immobilize him. Though it was subtle, Van noticed that the Breaker seemed to be using caution, which told him that while the Pilot had no idea what he had planned, he did know that he was up to something. It would be that much harder to get in close, but he had to.

It took the better part of half an hour but Van finally got the opening he had been looking for. He had one shot at this and one shot only. He urged his Blade Liger to go as fast as it could, before pressing the self-detonate button. It would take thirty seconds, since that gave the pilot just enough time to evacuate, but Van didn't have that option. His Liger clamped down onto the Geno Breaker, holding fast…but not strong enough. A well timed tail smash sent him, and his about to explode, Liger away. Knowing that it was too late to try to escape did Van close his eyes, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

However, nearly five minutes and no explosion later, did Van peek one of his eyes open to take a look. What he saw made his jaw drop in shock. The Geno Breaker must have rushed after him after he had been flung away, for it was now right there beside him through his cockpit, Van could see electricity arching along the whole Zoid. At first, he couldn't make heads or tails of what had just happened, but a closer look at his specs told him almost everything that he needed to know. On the one screen in front of him it kept flashing that his self-detonation had been aborted, which was odd as one couldn't just abort something like that. Another monitor popped up a moment later, telling him that there was something inside his Zoid and that several key wires had been cut, and that included the wires that were connected to the bomb inside the Liger. Utterly confused, Van peered out of his cockpit to try and see just what was wrong. His eyes widened in horror and an even deeper feeling of confusion washed over him.

Sticking out of his Liger's one side was the one good, retractable claw of the Geno Breaker. In its clutches were the wires needed to detonate the bomb. Van could only stare at it for a moment before his gaze went back to the Geno Breaker, the Zoid still in pain from the electricity coursing through it. Just how had the Pilot known? How did he know just what to aim for? And, most importantly…why? Why had he saved him? He could have easily just let him go up in flames with his Zoid…but he didn't. If this Pilot confused him before, it was nothing to how he felt now. It was quite clear that the Pilot had just saved his life, but was one good deed enough to keep him from being executed for his previous crimes? His mind brought up Raven and all that he had done…before participating in the Final Battle with him. He had been pardoned, despite not hearing it himself. He was so confused and stuck in his thoughts that he never noticed that said Pilot was trying to get his retractable claw back. It wasn't until the Zoid tugged hard and moved Van slightly that he noticed just what was going on. Needless to say, he was a bit shocked that not only was the Zoid still moving, but the Pilot still conscious.

However, there seemed to be a little problem. The retractable claw was stuck, and no matter which way the Pilot twisted the arm, it didn't come free. Van knew that it was only a matter of time before back up came for either of them, so getting free was definitely something that both wanted.

The two struggled to get free from one another, but to no avail. Just when they were about to try one last time, reinforcements from both sides showed up at relatively the same time. However, the Others' got there just a few minutes sooner. Van watched in brief confusion as the lone Ptera soared over head before going into a dive. His eyes widened when his mind caught up to what was about to happen. It was only his blinking monitor that caught his attention. There was only one word typed across it, but it was all that Van needed.

The Ptera came pelting down at the two of them, but Van's reinforcements couldn't stop it. The rest of the Guardian Force could only watch in horror as the Ptera crashed right into the two Zoids, engulfing them into an inferno…

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_**Author's Note:**_ Mwahahaha! Evil cliff hanger! You all will just have to wait for the next update to find out what happens!


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